Wind musical instrument



I. 0. HAWK.

WIND MUSICAL-INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.22,1919- 'Patented Oct. 25, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IVAN o. HAWK, or EAST CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR. or ONE-HALF T0 THOMAS B. sonnN, or CLEVELAND, 01 110.

WIND MUSICAL INSTRULIENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 25, 1921.

Application filed August 22, 1919. Serial No. 319,192.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IVAN O. HAWK, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at East Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahogaand State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in find Musical Instruments; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in wind musical instruments, and particularly to that class of musical instrument of which the flute, clarinet and fife are the most popular types.

More broadly speaking my invention relates to any musical instrument employing a more or less inclosed column of air for producing the musical sounds or tones, the production of the tones being brought about by acting on the air column, either by blowing with the mouth or by mechanical means, and producing a vibration of the air column and then by increasing or decreasing the length of the vibrating column producing the variations in tones to make the musical scale.

The object of my invention is to provide a musical instrument of the type described which will be much more simple in construction and more easily operated than the types heretofore manufactured, and having such a construction as will greatly increase the facility of fingering.

My invention, therefore, consists in pro viding a hollow elongated body which may be tubular or angular in cross-section and having a single longitudinally extending slot or opening which is provided with a single flexible valve for controlling the full length of said opening.

My invention also consists in the features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter described in the specification, particularly pointed out in the claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figurel is a central longitudinal section of a portion of a musical instrument (similar to a flute) embodying my invention, and with the end or mouth piece broken away. Fig. 2 is a top plan of same. Fig. 3 is an end view of the same, and Fig. 4 is a View in perspective of the tubular portion alone, the valve and connections being removed,

Again referring to the drawings, 5 represents the body portion of my musical instrument and (as shown) consists of a tubular section which may be made either of metal or wood. This tubular section is provided (as shown in the drawings) with a small opening l adjacent to one end. This opening is similar to the opening in flutes through which the air is forced by the mouth to cause the vibration of the air column, but this forms no part of my invention and the blow opening may be formed at the very end as in the common flageolet or whistle. in the top surface of the tube 1 form a longitudinal slot which extends from the end of the tube opposite the mouth piece a predetermined length of the tube, the said slot being shown at 7. In case of a round tube as shown, I flatten or plane the surfaces of the tube adjacent to the slot to form a seat for the valve, as shown at S. My valve (indicated at 10) consists of a single strip of some flexible and elastic material, such as leather, which is made sufliciently long to extend the full length of said slot. One end of this valve I fasten or clamp directly against the surface of the tube at the end at the slot nearest to where the air is injected. Any suitable means may be employed for clamping the end of the valve to the tube, and I have shown a simple arrangement consisting of a screw 11 and thumb nut 12. At the end of the tube opposite to where the air is injected I mount a small support 13, and to the top of this support I clamp the other end of the said valve. I preferably employ a single clamping screw 14 and nut 15 for securing both the support and valve to the tube. It will therefore be understood that the end of my valve nearest to the mouthpiece is practically flush with the surface of the slot and the valve then inclines upwardly to the opposite end of the tube where it is fastened to the support 13. The said valve is therefore normally held above and away from the slot, but being flexible it is capable of being pressed down so as to lie along the brating column as the inclination of the valve will cause the portion of the valve not engaged by the fingers to stand up and away from the slot or opening. The pressing down of the said valve controls the column of air in the same manner as the closing of the finger openings in the ordinary flute or fife. There is this advantage that, whereas in the ordinary flute or life only such notes or tones can be produced as correspond tothe openings in the flute or fife, unless the instrument is provided with a more or less complicated series of valves, with my instrument the natural and chromatic musical scales may be produced directly by the fingering on the single valve.

lVhile I have shown my invention embodied in a type of musical instrument corresponding very closely to a flute or flfe, I do not limit myself to the particular type of musical instrument shown, as the basis of my invention is the controlling of a vibrating column of air by a single valve in the production of musical tones and its application to various types or forms of wind instruments.

What I claim is 1. In a musical instrument, the combination of a hollow body portion, a slot extending longitudinally from one end of the body portion a predetermined'length of the body portion, a flexible valve arranged above and extending the full length of said slot, means for supporting said valve so that said valve is spaced. from said slot, the arrangement being such that pressure exerted upon said valve will cause the said valve to close all or any desired portion of said slot, and

means for injecting air into said body portion. In

2. In a musical instrument, a hollow body portion provided at one end with a blow opening suitable for the production of sound, a slot extending from the opposite end of said body portion a predetermined distance longitudinally of said body portion, a support arranged at the end of said body portion opposite the mouth-piece, a flexible valve-forming strap secured at one end to said support and having its opposite end securely clamped to said body portion at a point beyond the end of the slot opposite to said support, the arrangement being such that said strap will normally stand above and away from said slot but under pressure will move down and close all or any desired portion of said slot.

3. A musical instrument comprising a hollow body portion and provided with a blow opening suitable for the production of sound, said body portion being provided with a longitudinally extending slot, a flexible valve adapted to close said slot supported on said body portion above said slot and at an angle to the longitudinal axis of said body portion, said valve having suflicient flexibility to 'move down and close said slot when pressure is exerted thereon.

In testimony whereof, I sign the foregoing specification, in the presence of two witnesses, I

' IVAN O. HAWK.

Witnesses: V

VICTOR G. LYNCH, lsAnELLE B. SODEN. 

